mtgfandomcom-20200223-history
Planeswalker
Planeswalkers in the Storyline Planeswalkers are usually at the forefront of any Magic story and the players of the game represent planeswalkers while they play. Originally, planeswalkers were all but omnipotent, which meant that they were frequently having to tackle issues of universal (or perhaps "multiversal") proportions. The nature of planeswalking changed as of the Time Spiral block storyline, and now planeswalking means little more than being able to cross between varying planes (Dominaria, Lorwyn, Rath, etc.). It is still an extremely rare event for someone to get the planeswalker's "spark," and always caused by something extreme in that person's life. Planeswalkers as cards Lorwyn introduced Planeswalker as a whole new card type to use in the game. It was originally intended to be included in Future Sight, what with the nature of planeswalking changing drastically. However, the set had already introduced a tremendous number of mechanics (and put names to old ones) and it was inside a block already containing a huge number of mechanics. Wizards of the Coast thought it best to push it back to Lorwyn, and in a way, this helped the feel of the planeswalkers. As people who were capable of crossing planes, it wasn't necessary for them to look like the supported creature types of Lorwyn. They looked like they really didn't belong there, which they really didn't. No mention was made of them in in the Lorwyn novel. Because the players themselves are supposed to represent planeswalkers, Wizards did not want to make cards of characters that were planeswalkers. They were simply too powerful in the novels to be accurately represented in the cards and be balanced for the game. While the events of Future Sight changed that, it still can be difficult for some to grasp the concept of planeswalker cards. They are essentially supposed to represent another player helping you out in the game without actually having that extra player. They come in with loyalty counters that act like life, have spell-like effects, do not have infinite resources, can be damaged, and can even be the target of attacks. Although you technically control the card, the flavor they are supposed to evoke is that this other player is helping you. Planeswalker cards are permanent cards similar to enchantments, but obviously carry their own rules. Although they look like creature cards, they are not creatures. They have a loyalty number on the bottom right corner of their cards, and when they come into play, they come in with that many loyalty counters. They each have 3 abilities of increasing severity, each of which with a loyalty cost. You may play any one of their abilities once per turn when you could play a sorcery. The first ability's cost always has a positive loyalty cost, allowing you to get the effect as well as increasing their loyalty counters. The others require you to take off loyalty counters, and if a planeswalker has no loyalty counters, it is put into the graveyard as a state-based effect (like when a creature has 0 toughness). As stated above, planeswalkers can be damaged. If another player controls a spell or effect that would deal damage to you, they may choose to deal damage to the planeswalker instead. If a planeswalker is dealt damage, that many loyalty counters are removed, so they effectively function as life. When you control a planeswalker, your opponent can choose to attack the planeswalker instead. Combat otherwise happens exactly like normal, with all the attacking, blocking, and damage happening exactly the same way. Finally, planeswalkers function similarly to legendary cards. All planeswalkers have a planeswalker type (basically their name), and if two planeswalkers in play have the same type, they go to the graveyard as a state-based effect. This allows Wizards the ability to design different cards of the same planeswalker. --- Category:Card type